What did you do today?

[PStechPaul]

A few days ago a limb broke off my big sycamore and clipped the end of the rain gutter:




Just a few minutes ago, I heard a loud THUMP, and when I went outside, I found that another even larger limb broke off and fell onto the area where I had been working on the shed foundation:


YIKES!

[Cenedd]

Started squaring up the blocks I cut for a carriage stop. Was following Tom Lipton's excellent You Tube video on how to do this but finding I was getting nowhere near as square as he was. It dawned on me that the method is dependent on the fixed jaw being square so I checked....and it wasn't. Turns out to be another downside (admittedly user error) of a tilting vise.
Only pride damaged but valuable (if irritating) learning curve.

Was impressed with the solid carbide alu profile endmill's finish on a full-depth side mill too.

[RB211]

Not machining related but took my original Raspberry Pi and put Octoprint on it, now running my 3d printer from my laptop. What spurred this was my son hiding my SD card reader. So now I upload my Gcode to my printer through the network.
Printing a FDL Nerf gun.

[danlb]

Well, Yesterday I decided to upgrade my transportation. I'm making at least one 1000 mile round trip each month. That means there has been a lot of time to evaluate every aspect of my current ride.

I've been driving a first generation Prius for the last 17 years. It was the pinnacle of esoteric technology when I bought it. But like me, it's getting rather shaggy looking with a fading paint job and headlights that are getting cloudy. It's around town mileage has dropped to around 35 mpg and the freeway mileage has dropped to the low 40s when I'm driving at 75 mph for hour after hour. To get the needed tune up, paint, brake job and radio would cost upwards of $5,000. Yeah, I was quoted a $3500 for a decent paint job. The Kelly blue book value is about $500. Probably not a good investment. It was a nice looking car back in 2002

My decision to buy a new one was based partially on the fact that I've hit the medicare age, so it the might be the last car I buy. I went with the "Advanced" model of the Prius Plug in Hybrid.

There are many PHEVs available, from the Volt to the Kia Niro to a Volvo SUV. This one happens to fit my driving needs well. It will make 5 trips across my town as an EV without using any gas at all. It will automatically switch to the very mature synergy drive (gas hybrid) when the battery goes low. It has a range of 660 miles on an 11 gallon gas tank. It rides really nice, and has all the smart features that will make those long drives more tolerable.

As usual, it took forever to buy the darn thing. 4 hours from start to finish. The second best part of the whole experience was to find that an unemployed senior citizen on social security and only two credit cards to his name can have an 800+ credit rating.

[Willy]

Nice looking car Dan!

Please do give us an update too on how you like the car after that new car smell has started to fade and you have had some more seat time in order to give us your overall satisfaction rating.

Cold and miserable here today, those palm trees look pretty inviting! LOL

[RB211]

Well, Yesterday I decided to upgrade my transportation. I'm making at least one 1000 mile round trip each month. That means there has been a lot of time to evaluate every aspect of my current ride.

I've been driving a first generation Prius for the last 17 years. It was the pinnacle of esoteric technology when I bought it. But like me, it's getting rather shaggy looking with a fading paint job and headlights that are getting cloudy. It's around town mileage has dropped to around 35 mpg and the freeway mileage has dropped to the low 40s when I'm driving at 75 mph for hour after hour. To get the needed tune up, paint, brake job and radio would cost upwards of $5,000. Yeah, I was quoted a $3500 for a decent paint job. The Kelly blue book value is about $500. Probably not a good investment. It was a nice looking car back in 2002

My decision to buy a new one was based partially on the fact that I've hit the medicare age, so it the might be the last car I buy. I went with the "Advanced" model of the Prius Plug in Hybrid.

There are many PHEVs available, from the Volt to the Kia Niro to a Volvo SUV. This one happens to fit my driving needs well. It will make 5 trips across my town as an EV without using any gas at all. It will automatically switch to the very mature synergy drive (gas hybrid) when the battery goes low. It has a range of 660 miles on an 11 gallon gas tank. It rides really nice, and has all the smart features that will make those long drives more tolerable.

As usual, it took forever to buy the darn thing. 4 hours from start to finish. The second best part of the whole experience was to find that an unemployed senior citizen on social security and only two credit cards to his name can have an 800+ credit rating.

Our 2007 Gen2 Prius has 224,000 miles on it, the battery is starting to show signs of old age. Still the most reliable car I've ever owned. It will be replaced with a pickup truck however.

[danlb]

Last Friday my laptop made a funny sound as I opened it. The section of the plastic case that supports the hinge had broken. It's a hollow plastic pillar with a M2.5 x6 screw that secures the lid's hinge to the body of the laptop. Once the bottom of the support shattered it left the hinge with no support. This caused a 1/4 to 1/2 inch gap in the edge of the case as the lid was moved through different positions.

The cure was to make a bushing to replace the original. It was made to a press fit and the rim ensured that the pressure of the screw was distributed. Of course, I found that I had no screws to fit, and the new bushing required a longer screw than the original. And, as is to be expected, my taps and dies go down to m3, but not 2.5. I could get a package of screws from Fastenall for only $65. Hmmm. Amazon had an assortment with next day shipping for $9. The first picture shows the repair as completed. The second shows the bushing and the box of screws that made it possible. A 12mm screw did the trick.

[bborr01]

After the loss of my mom a few months ago the job of selling the family home of 56 years fell on me. After talking to a realtor I decided that the basement needed painting now that the house was finally empty for the first time in 56 years. I decided the Wagner power painter that I had bought about 5 years ago was the way to go to paint the concrete walls and floors. I had never tried this power painter before but a hired guy tried it when he was doing some work on a rental property for me and told me it was more trouble than it was worth.

I just used a regular roller for the walls because it was a real thick water and mildew proof paint. The power painter worked pretty good for edging the floor to the walls but when I hooked it up to the roller it took about 10 minutes before it showed any paint on the roller cover. I finally abandoned the power painter and did the floors with a regular roller. (thank God for that broom handle).

Next day I called Wagner only to be told that that model had been discontinued and parts were no longer available so I decided to take a look at it and see if it was something simple. It took a little bit of doing to figure how to get it apart but I finally got to the pump and saw that it had a piece of 1/4" clear plastic tubing with rollers rolling around it to push paint in one direction or another. The hose was cracked and was pulling more air than paint. I made the six mile round trip to the local hardware store and bought a foot of vinyl tubing for 38 cents and installed it. So far it has only pumped water but seems to work like new.

After painting moms basement I have also decided to do the same thing to the basement of our home for the last 40 years. That should be a good trial of my repair to the power painter.

I may even try to post a photo of the pump to try the new photo posting service.

Brian

[DennisCA]

I've started making.... a burger smasher, for smashing out burger patties.





Idea of how it ought to look when done

[AD5MB]

Dressed down my low voltage cables. I have 24 video cameras, a PA system, IR and visible lights, and a major CATV system. starting at the far ends and working back to the living room, pulling back slack, tie wrapping, getting rid of spots where four cables are tie wrapped and three are not. making it look like it was built buy someone with a little bit of pride in his work, versus the local "good enough for the girls we go with" mentality

[Cenedd]

I've started making.... a burger smasher, for smashing out burger patties.

...and some chips to go with it too. I'll get my coat.
Do hope it's not a leaded steel.

Got my new more sensible vise today. Now busy over-thinking some hold-down clamps for it.

[DennisCA]

I think it is just regular mild steel, if it was some kind of free machining steel then I do not believe it would produce any long strands, sometimes it would do that instead of nice chips.

[thaiguzzi]

Not machining related but took my original Raspberry Pi and put Octoprint on it, now running my 3d printer from my laptop. What spurred this was my son hiding my SD card reader. So now I upload my Gcode to my printer through the network.
Printing a FDL Nerf gun.

Hi. Can you repeat that in English please?

[Baz]

Our department at work is not supposed to have test equipment so on Friday we could only order 'special trouble-shooting aids'. Arrived on Monday rather faster than expected and we didn't have anywhere ready to set it up. They couldn't wait to get on with 'trouble shooting' so set it up in the store room today. So far it examined whether a small 1 inch high model robot is causing trouble and it is currently working on some troublesome little block things that were on the SD card too. I'm sure this will ULTI mately MAK er our job easier. Meanwhile I will spend the weekend thinking what important trouble-shooting aspects this device can aid me with.

[Tim The Grim]

Just came home from my final 12 hour night shift. Eleven more day shifts and two weeks from today I’ll be retired.